Dear Tweeters,

Today, alas, is the last day of my summer vacation. Tomorrow, back to the classroom I go!

It would have been meet and right for a rare bird to present itself to me today, but no such luck. However, I did manage to find around 78 species on a lovely day, and ten species of shorebirds.

Highlights included:

Black-bellied Plover, 101 or more at Jensen Access.

Semipalmated Plover, 1 at Jensen.

Pectoral Sandpiper, singles at Channel Drive, LaConner, and the Game Range, and four or five at Jensen.

Mew Gull, my first of the season, about fifty at Samish Island Public Beach.

N. Rough-winged Swallow, one north of Bay View.

Black-throated Grey Warbler, one at Samish Island Public Beach.

Lincoln's Sparrow, one, my first of fall, at Jensen's Access.


A note about Jensen Access: today there was a great viewing opportunity at high tide in the late afternoon and evening. Unlike my previous visits there over the last few weeks, today the shorebirds were landing on logs and hummocks to the east of the access, not to the west--giving great views with no sun glare challenges. I have high hopes that the shorebirds will continue to do so at high tide in the next six weeks.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

Gary Bletsch?Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA?garybletsch at yahoo.com?Mentre che li occhi per la fronda verde
ficcava ?o s? come far suole
chi dietro a li uccellin sua vita perde, lo pi? che padre mi dicea: ?Figliuole,
vienne oramai, ch? ?l tempo che n?? imposto
pi? utilmente compartir si vuole?.??